Propaganda

"You Lie!"

Those are the words now made infamous by Rep. Joe Wilson(R-SC). He yelled them last week during President Barack Obama's healthcare address to Congress. The outburst did not go over so well and the House decided to "rebuke" the Congressmen for his actions. The rebuke is an official thumbs down from Congress.

Well Rep. Joe Wilson, I give you a thumbs up.

In the freest country in the world, the home of democracy, where we pride ourselves on our first amendment right to say almost anything, why is there so much uproar about a simple outburst? And that is exactly what it was, a simple outburst. Two words. "You Lie."

If our elected officials can't express themselves to the president, then who can? Are they not elected to represent us? And if we feel like the President is lying, then why can't we tell him that. At all the townhall meetings around the country over the last months, constituents have been explicitly expressing their feelings verbally to elected officials. If at any moment in the whole debate to stand up to the president, Wilson picked the best moment. 

There have been worse actions on the Senate floor. Remember when Dick Cheney told Senator Patrick Leahy to "Go F*** Yourself!" a few years back.

Seriously though, maybe Washington wouldn't be so uptight if they let out some aggression in a verbal sparring match occasionally. The British do it weekly with Prime Minister questions.  

Hey I got a great idea!

Lets carry guns at the next healthcare townhall meeting.

Oh wait, some one already beat me to it.

Yes, the sad truth is that someone has already beat me to it. Not only once though, it has happened a couple times. First it started out with a guy carrying a pistol(first picture below). Then it grew to someone with an assault rifle, an AR-15 (second picture below). Maybe next time it will be a bazooka.

So what were these people thinking?

Well of course it is our right as Americans. The second amendment to the United States Constitution states:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Now I am for gun rights. Do not get me wrong. We as Americans have the right to own and bear arms. If I want to go out and buy a gun then I should be able to. I should also be able to buy as many bullets that I need or desire.

On the other hand though, I am not for carrying guns at presidential events. It is downright absurd. Too many bad things have happened when guns were brought near Presidents. Let me just remind you of the two Kennedy brothers. No matter how much you think it is your right, people must begin to use common sense.

Thousand Oaks demonstrated to us that in a peaceful community, even violence can erupt over political issues. Luckily no one had a gun there or the situation could have turned out a lot worse.

So the healtchare townhalls have taken a turn for the worse. On Wednesday night in Thousand Oaks, a health care rally turned violent or should we say Mike Tyson-ish. According to KTLA:

When someone from the pro-reform side crossed over to the anti-reform side, a fist fight ensued, which resulted in the man's pinky finger getting bitten off. ("Man's Finger Bitten Off At Healthcare Rally."KTLA. 2 Sept. 2009)

I have not attended any rallies but if I do, be sure I will be wearing one of those chain link mesh outsits, the ones divers use to protect from sharks. I really don't need any part of my body being bitten off.

Was anyone actually at the event?

So it has been a wierd summer to say the least. We had June gloom as usual. Then maybe a month of sunshine. Then June gloom turned into August fog. Now we have some sun and some heat. The beach was amazing this weekend. But can we expect sun for the next few months? Or are we going to return to fog? And what is going to happen this winter? Rain, snow, tornadoes?

Either way the summer we are used to was thrown off this year. Now my question, is global warming to blame?

And before you even answer that question, you must answer is global warming even real?

Yes, I know after all the movies and scientific data (wait, what data?) we are still debating whether global warming, or the correct term, Global Climate Change is real.

So in the comments, first let me know if you think global climate change is real. I've talked to quite a few people who still do not buy into it. Then, let me know if you think this summer's whacky weather is tied to climate change.

Monday's front page story was about military commanders calling for more troops in Afghanistan. With the 68,000 troops that are already there, the situation continues to deteriorate. More troops have only led to more fighting and casualties. This month alone has been the deadliest month of the 8-year war:

• In July, 45 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan, the highest monthly toll this year. So far in August, 40 Americans have died, many in the south, and Pentagon officials say privately that with nearly a week left in the month, they expect August to exceed July's number. Americans make up the majority of the 63 coalition troops killed so far this month; 75 coalition soldiers died in July. (Yousef, Nancy."Coalition's 2009 Death Toll in Afghanistan Eclipses All of Last Year." McClatchy News. 25 Aug. 2009.) 

So the questions remain. Is Afghanistan a winnable war? And if so, at what costs?

President Obama seems to be a smart guy. Afghanistan is not welcoming to invaders. Put two and two together. Not even the Soviets could defeat the rag tag tribes of that country.

The day I knew the war was un-winnable came earlier this year. I had just finished watching Charlie Wilson's War. The movie details a former Representative Charlie Wilson's efforts to provide funding to the rebels of Afghanistan when they were fighting the Soviets in the 80's. There is a scene where the Congressman tries to procure funding for rocket launchers so that the rebels can shoot down Soviet helicopters, because then, the war would be winnable for the rebels. The rebels end up getting the rockets and shooting down some Soviet helicopters. Low and behold, the Soviets retreat.

Well a few days after watching the movie I saw this picture in the paper. I instantly thought back to the scene in the movie. The report detailed that this chopper crashed on its own; from either pilot error or malfunction. Either way, it showed me that the Taliban didn't even need to shoot us down, we would do it to ourselves. That is the reality we are facing in Afghanistan.

First Vick, then Favre, and now Ochocinco. This NFL season is going to be great.

Any Superbowl favorites?

Health care townhalls rage on.

And something to wow you!

Well Dodger fans, its that time of the season. The time when the Dodgers begin to show their true colors. And what would that be, choke artists blue.

Since the All Star Break, the Dodgers are 13-17. Their ranking as number one team in baseball has slipped. Game by game, day by day, the blue crew just seems to be getting worse.

If you watch the Dodgers at all, you would know this is a yearly occurence. They start out hot and then after the All Star Game they begin their spiral downward. So should us Dodgers fans really expect anything more?

Yes we should. With Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre, I expected the second half season curse to be gone. Last year, the Dodgers played mediocre all season and then somehow made the playoffs. It seemed to work last year. Well this year was totally different. The Dodgers started out as the hottest team in baseball. On Opening Day of Dodger Stadium, Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle and it looked like it was going to be a great season. Well it turned out to be a great first half. The second half is becoming quite a disapointment.

Truthfully, I was expecting this. I see the Dodgers continuing to fight to keep their lead in the NL West. Maybe they will hold it, most likely they won't. Its going to be a tough one. At the rate they are going , even if they make the playoffs, it will be a short post season.

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On a side note, our favorite quarterback, Brett Favre, is back. Tuesday it was announced he had signed with the Minnesota Vikings. This NFL season is going to be a good one.

With the 2009 NFL season about to kick off the drama has already started.

On Thursday it was announced that Michael Vick reached a 2-year contract deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Whether he plays quarterback or another position is unknown. Reports earlier in the week were saying he could play a hybrid running back position. It will be quite interesting team chemistry with the Eagles having their own scrambling quarterback in Donovan McNabb.

I for one am not upset with the Eagles signing Vick. He paid his debt to society by serving his two years in prison. That is more than Donte Stallworth can say. Stallworth recieved 28 days in jail for killing a man while he was drunk driving in March of this year. The NFL has suspended Stallworth for this season with no pay. Vick will be suspended for the four regular season games. 

Vick's return to the NFL will only present more drama that fans tune in to get. Unlike any other sport, football is very versatile and can change quickly. Michael Vick is one of those players that fans look to for excitement because of the flash in the pan skills he presents. Since college, he's been known to scramble 50+ yards for touchdowns and I hope to enjoy in some more of that excitement this season.

Welcome back Michael Vick! We missed you.

What's wrong with my generation?

I will tell you. We feel as though we are entitled.

Entitled to what?

Entitled to everything. From good grades to good jobs to great pay. We don't want to have to work hard for it like our parents or grandparents. It seems a lot of people my age just want things handed to them. I myself have felt this way and my father likes to make sure I know I have acted in this way.

Lately though, I have tried to change my ways. I think a lot of this entitlement happens subconsciously. Now I am not a psychologist, just going by what my gut tells me.

So the next question is why does my generation feel entitled?

That I really do not have an answer for. Maybe because growing up we watched television non-stop and there everyone was given everything they wanted. Of course, that is not reality but as a kid we all wished it was. And that rubbed off on us in all the wrong ways.

How can we stop the entitlement generation?

I really don't have an answer for that either. Hopefully all of us will pull our head out of our ___ and get to work. Instead of waiting for everything to be handed to us, we will go out there and actually earn it. Especially with the state of the union, times are going to be tough for a while and we, my generation, are going to need to work together to pull this place back together.

Are you a victim of entitlement syndrome?